baltimore local volunteer opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities
With the support of committed volunteers, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Baltimore is able to help young people connect their classroom learning to real-world experiences. Volunteers offer NFTE students and alumni new perspectives on the NFTE curriculum and their efforts have a direct, lasting influence on the personal and professional successes of our young people.

General descriptions of the primary volunteer positioons are listed below. If you are interest in any of the listed opportunities or want more information, contact Dawn Edwards, Director of Development, at dawn.edwards@nfte.com or 410.375.9552.

Business Plan CoachTime commitment: 1-2 hours per month for 3-4 months
Business plan coaches advise students on how to improve their business plans. Through one-on-one and small-group sessions in the NFTE classroom or community-based organization setting, coaches assist students with fully developing their ideas, focusing on areas they have difficulty understanding or articulating, and helping them to present their ideas before an audience and a panel of judges.

Field Trip Host
Time commitment: 1 day for 2-3 hours
One of the best ways to expose young people to business concepts is to have them visit a business and meet the people who make it happen. Field trips give students the chance to observe practitioners in job functions such as finance, human resources, marketing, and sales. The visits can be to the volunteer’s company or to the business of a local entrepreneur (e.g., neighborhood restaurant owner or merchant). Field trips are a terrific opportunity for young people to learn about different professions and the challenges and rewards of the workplace.

Guest Speaker
Time commitment: 1 day for approximately 1 hour
Guest speakers facilitate a 45-minute to 1-hour lesson or present a topic of their choice to complement the NFTE curriculum. As business professionals and entrepreneurs, guest speakers add more dimension to our students’ learning by offering fresh perspectives, which connect the textbook to real-life business experiences.

Mentor – ClassroomTime commitment: 1 hour a day, 2-3 days per month for 9 months
Classroom mentors provide support and assistance to a class of approximately 15 students as they are learning the key concepts (Opportunity Recognition, Market Research, Promotion and Sales, and Business Financials) presented in the NFTE curriculum. As business professionals and entrepreneurs, mentors can reinforce these concepts and provide advice on how to present these topic areas in a student’s plan.

Mentor – TeacherTime commitment: at least 1-2 hours, 1-2 days per month for 9 months
Teachers are central to NFTE’s success. As the primary conveyors of information and influencers of youth, NFTE teachers have a significant impact on our students, and it is clear that the “best” teachers produce the “best” students. Mentors will share experiences and provide advice and feedback about particular topic areas to connect the textbook to real-life business experiences.

Business Plan Competition Judging
The culminating event of every NFTE program is a competition. Through this opportunity, students present their business plans before an audience and a panel of volunteer judges. Judges listen, ask questions, and evaluate each presentation. Judges, who are entrepreneurs and business professionals, offer students a realistic perspective of their business plans. Judges are needed for:

Classroom CompetitionTime commitment: 1 day for 2-3 hours
Volunteers will serve on a panel of 3-4 judges at one or more NFTE Schools in Baltimore City. Judges will score and critique each student’s business plan, ultimately choosing the top 3 participants and inviting the overall winner to attend the semi-final round.

Semi-Final RoundTime Commitment: 1 day for 3-4 hours
Volunteers will serve as part of a panel of four judges, scoring the individual presentations of students at either the middle or high school presentation. The top presenter of each of the cohort is invited to participate in the City-Wide Final Competition.

Event Volunteer
Time commitment: Varies depending on the event
Throughout the year NFTE Baltimore host events in support of our work. Volunteers assist at registration, with location set-up, during the program, and clean-up activities.